Zook Family Updates

Mom is home! Dad is set for pick up tomorrow morning! Praise God! As shared previously, we are going to have some new ways that you all can continue to support us.  Visitors:  Our parents are going to be so excited to start seeing their amazing friends and family! We are going to open up a visiting spot for 30 minutes a day starting next week to give us some time to adjust to everyone being home. If you want to come for a visit just sign up at the link below. Please know these visits are intentionally short with Artie in mind. Artie is progressing but please understand that she is still working her way back to her typical social butterfly behavior 🦋  Note: Phone calls can be a lot for Artie at this time - challenging to follow and keep up with quick responses. Reach out to Ali to schedule a short call if you’d like to chat! SCHEDULE VISITS AT THIS LINK: https://www.giveinkind.com/inkinds/B4T8F4X Meals: First, thank you ALL for keeping us fed these last few ...

As the marathon continues, we are definitely entering a new stage. Rehab has been awesome for both of our parents and now we are actively discussing their returns home. HALLELUJAH! Both of our parents are likely to be discharged this week. Artie will be discharged as soon as we have a home health provider confirmed and Marlin’s anticipated date is Saturday. As we have learned first hand, these dates are tentative and can change rapidly so don’t be alarmed if they are revised for any reason.  They will both begin home health therapy and will complete the recommended therapy timeline.  As we are making these awesome strides, we are going to have some new ways that you all can support us. We will post details in an update tomorrow - this will include an update on visiting our parents as well!  Prayer Requests: Pray for successful transition home & full return of cognitive and physical abilities. Grateful for each and every one of you! Keep praying. Love you...

REUNITED & IT FEELS SO GOOD! PRAISE GOD!   Marlin’s transfer was successfully completed yesterday around noon & the story of his arrival is too precious to not share.  I heard his voice in the hall and went out to welcome him! He was still strapped into the transport gurney so I told him to just wait one minute and I will wheel Mom right over.  It wasn’t but two minutes later and I hear Marlin in the hall with his walker asking where his wife is - so I rushed out to get him into Artie’s room & SEATED! A nurse quickly followed giving him a scolding for moving around without assistance. He looked up at her with tearful eyes and said “I’m sorry I broke the rules but I have been waiting too long to see my wife.” Then he gave Artie a wedding day level kiss - times two!  So to say we are so excited to all be together is the understatement of the century. They are in rooms right next to each other and this finally allows all of us kids to visit both of t...

Hi everyone! Gratefully both Marlin and Artie are continuing to progress on their road to recovery. We are still waiting to get Marlin transferred to Reston. Today there was more progress on this made and we are anticipating that tomorrow could be the day.  Please pray for a tomorrow transfer! Marlin is really ready to be with his honey & certainly Artie is ready to have him there. We will update here once we confirm with the hospital. Prayer Requests: Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Once we have them settled in together we will update a new address for cards & flowers. We have been taking the cards we have received for them at each visit and they are so grateful!!  We will also discuss the possibility of visitors with them once they are together. Thank you all for your patience here! We are sensitive to not overwhelm my mom while she is still in the early stages of...

Happy Easter everyone!! We have seen God’s resurrection power actively in our lives these last two weeks and we have a ton to be grateful for! We had an uneventful and lovely Easter dividing and conquering to spend time with both of our parents.  Praying for a big day tomorrow - hopefully transferring Marlin to Reston! We will update here once we know for sure.  Prayer Requests: Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. We hope you all had a beautiful Easter with loved ones and hugged them all tight! Praise God our Savior for his unimaginable love - this day and every day. Keep praying. Love you more. Alison, Derek & Dylan

Another solid day! Artie had a great birthday - all things considered! Us kids made sure she was spoiled with love and shared all the kind messages, flowers & cards she received. She was especially loved on during a long phone call with Marlin! They can’t wait to see each other!  She rocked all her therapies and even got to get a little fresh air outside in the sunshine.  She is making great progress on her journey and we are so proud of her! Prayer Requests: Pray that she continues her path to a complete cognitive recovery. Marlin is had another great day & even took a little walk up and down the hall - with assistance of course! He is eager to get moved to rehab and is doing all the right things to move that along.  Prayer Requests: please pray that he continues to remain stable & be patient with this process. Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Thank you a...

Another consistent day! Our parents are both holding steady with no major changes. We are trying so hard to be patient with ourselves and remember that recovery is going to take time. Please pray for us kids to hold on tight to faith, remain at peace, be filled with patience and to remember that God didn’t bring us this far to only bring us this far. We are all doing well - this is just a long, slow and emotionally trying process.  Marlin is holding steady which is exactly what he needs to do! He is adjusting well to solid food and we are really hopeful to have him discharged to Reston Rehab next week. Prayer Requests: please pray that he continues to  remain stable & be patient with this process. Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Artie had another solid day of rehab. She is continues to do well in her therapies & is exhausted by the end of the day! Tomorrow is her birt...

Another day of progress! God is seeing us through every day. Marlin is continuing to do well. He has officially started a food diet and will be weened of the liquid nutrition which brings him another step closer to acute rehab. The blood clot is still being monitored & there are no signs of this worsening. Overall his vitals are solid and we just need those to remain stable.  He has been increasing in mobility & doing well with the PT exercises that he has started. He is ready to get to rehab & hopefully be with Artie :) Prayer Requests: please pray that his blood clot quickly dissipates and that he continues to be patient with this process. Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Artie had another solid day of rehab. She is doing well in her therapies & by the end of the day she is ready for a good sleep!  She is consistent with daily responsiveness improvements....

We are having a solid hump day!   Marlin is doing well in his step down unit. He has a small blood clot in his lung that has developed which is common with his injuries. The clot is being treated & very closely monitored with expectations that it will dissipate over the next couple days. All other injuries are continuing to heal and he is showing good progress.  He is ready to get to rehab & hopefully be with Artie :) Prayer Requests: please pray that his blood clot quickly dissipates and that he continues to be patient with this process. Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Artie had a great full first day of rehab! They had her walking with a cane, practicing steps & even getting in and out of the car. We are seeing continued daily progress with her speech and responsiveness.  Prayer Requests: Pray that she continues her path to a complete cognitive recovery. ...

Sorry for the late update everyone! It’s been a busy but great day for the Zook family! We are going to continue to do our best to post daily but these may taper slightly as we continue to move forward. Thank you thank you THANK YOU for your continued love and support. Prayers are being answered and we can truly feel the love that surrounds us!!  Both of them are officially out of critical care!! Marlin has been downgraded from ICU!! Praise Jesus! We’re so so proud of him and so excited that he’s getting stronger every day!  He is ready to get to rehab & hopefully be with Artie :) Prayer Requests: Pray that his case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Artie is officially in acute rehab! She is continuing to improve leaps and bounds every day both physically and cognitively. Prayer Requests: Pray that she continues her path to a complete cognitive recovery. Still not quite ready for visito...

And mile two begins! We are shifting priority from an emergency state to focus on praying for a complete recovery.   Both of our parents are progressing the right direction.  Marlin is still in ICU but next steps are actively being discussed. He is making great progress. Prayer Requests: pray for continued consistency & progress with pain management in his ribs. Pray that he is moved out of the ICU when God would say he is ready & that he is case would be accepted by the rehab facility in Reston so that out parents could continue to recover together. Artie is continuing her progress out of ICU. She will be moved to acute rehab in the upcoming days. She is continuing to improve in her cognitive functionality & as to be expected her speech is still slightly slow with responsiveness. This being said she is thriving with memory both short term and long term.  Prayer Requests: pray for continued consistency & progress with her responsiveness. Pray tha...

  We are so grateful and humbled to continue delivering good news!   Both of our parents are doing great! We have been able to have regular phone calls with both of them since yesterday.  Marlin has probably never had more to say in his life! Forever the comedian, he is already back to those classic one liners - telling us “You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your fathers nose!”  Artie is back at it as well! Making phone calls & requesting her skincare routine! She called us yesterday just to have a 15 minute chat with us & she let us know that she is so glad she could call us! There are no words to describe what the blessing of phone calls means to us. A week ago today we would have done anything to hear their voices again. Glory to God in the highest!  With this said, they still need a ton of rest and are not yet ready for visitors. We are keeping their phones until they are ready to have conversations. As soon as visitation is avail...

HALLELUJAH GLORY TO GOD! Both of our parents have been successfully extubated and are speaking to us!!!   We had the immense blessing of a family phone call today where Marlin and Artie were able to exchange I love yous.  We are elated!! This feels like we are finally hitting mile two of this marathon and you know what they always say - the first mile sucks.  Prayer Requests: please pray for continued stability of the ventilators and progressing independence. Marathons get completed! Keep praying.  Love you more. Alison, Derek & Dylan

  Incredible day for the Zook family yesterday and so far today! Artie is doing amazing! Opening her eyes for her kids voices & even started talking a little!  She is even more alert this morning & exceeding expectations in PT/OT. She was able to stay seated without back support & did her first stand up.  We spent time brushing her hair, massaging her feet and even put on a little lipgloss to ensure she is nice & comfortable.  Prayer Requests: please pray for continued progress & for peace. Marlin had an amazing day as well! He still intubated but was very lucid yesterday. He communicated with us with some nods and shakes of the head. He made our day when he gave us a few BIG smiles!  Progress to healing is continuing as we have been praying for. We are hopeful that we may be able to start some breathing trials soon to take a step towards breathing independence.  We remain thrilled with the progress he is making!! Prayer ...

We had another really stable day yesterday with small improvements that will absolutely add up over time.   Artie is continuing to remain stable following extubation. She is moving around in the bed and still responding to commands.  She is still sleeping and has not yet woken up. This is to be expected and although we all want to see her awake, we need to remember there is immense value in her coming around on own her time. Due to this they were not able to perform swallow & speech tests yesterday. All other injuries are stable and being monitored with no further intervention required at this time.  She will start to begin physical & occupational therapy.  Prayer Requests: please pray for continued progress & for peace. Pray that she begins to come to consciousness on Gods perfect timing.  Marlin had a great day yesterday. He still intubated and sedated for his comfort and continues to wake-up and follow commands when prompted.  ...

  More wins to report! God is at WORK!! Artie has been officially extubated - PRAISE JESUS!! This means she is off machine support & independently breathing. Incredible answer to prayer!! Over the next few days the goal is to see her wake up. We do want to see this happen slowly for her benefit as she is slightly anxious.  She has some fractures- her left clavicle & a couple ribs. Today we will be doing further swallowing & speech tests to move her forward.  Prayer Requests: please pray for continued progress & for peace in her heart & mind to calm her anxiety.  Marlin is showing his strength and resiliency like never before. He is still intubated and sedated for his comfort, but is able to wake-up and follow commands when prompted.    We were told early-on in this journey that the path to recovery wouldn’t be a straight line - we will have ebbs & flows.  Yesterday he was on higher ventilator settings than what t...

We are stable & strong. Both Marlin and Artie are continuing to remain stable & responsive to commands. To maintain their comfort & ensure they are getting ample rest, they are being kept intubated & sedated at this time.  They are not ready for visitors. We are communicating well wishes and they know how incredibly loved they are.  We are praying for continued improvement today. We will continue to keep you all updated.  Remember the small wins right now are the big wins, and we are having a lot of small wins!  We love you all. 

We are happy to report that both of our parents are stable and responsive. The last 24 hours have been a nightmare come to life. Our parents have experienced life saving miracles - we are grateful for the prayers that have been answered already & the incredible response of the EMT’s & medical professionals that have taken amazing care of them.   At this time we are keeping the medical details light as were are expecting more information & improvement over the next 48 hours. Please know that both Marlin & Artie are aware that we are with them - Marlin even cracked a smile for the nurse last night! We will provide another update later today with more information.  Please send any cards or flowers to the house: 16200 Mountain Ridge Lane, Purcellville, VA 20132 They cannot currently receive anything in the ICU units but we will ensure that they get your well wishes once transferred to more stable care in the next couple of weeks.  Please don’t stop pra...

  Hello Loved Ones:  This morning we were made aware that our parents were in an accident on Route 7 near Hill High Orchard. They were crossing Route 7 and hit by an oncoming driver that they did not see.    Our parents were transferred to separate hospitals.  Artie is in Reston Marlin is Winchester They are both in critical condition at this time. We are happy to report that thankfully both of them are responsive and know we are there. Derek and Faye are with Marlin in Winchester and Dylan and Drew are with Artie in Reston.  Alison and Dave are en route on flights from Texas arriving at 10pm this evening.  Marlin is responsive and knows Derek is there with him. Main concern now is mild bleeding in the spleen. They are waiting to see if the bleeding will stop on its own, if not they will need to remove in surgery. He and Artie both have fractures to their pelvic and ribs.   There is a long road ahead and we need all the prayers from friends and fa...